I just want to be needed
by Ravenshirin
Summary: When Riku gets back to the island after the adventure, everything returns to normal--he hates it. Just when he thinks he'll go insane, a mysterious girl appears. What will happen when he finds out the truth about this young woman? Will he ever be the same
1. Chapter 1 Gift from the heavens

"Sora! Riku! Come over here, you guys!" A pretty young woman called to her two best friends. She turned towards the school from where all three of them had just left. A boy walked slowly in her direction, wearing a uniform like all the other students.

The sun was shining straight overhead even though it was 3:25 p.m. and the heat was nearly unbearable. The young woman pushed her flaming red hair out of her face and look at the ocean. It had nearly been six months since she'd gotten back home with her best friends. Time seemed to have stood still the entire time, though, because nothing had changed.

"Kairi, did you call?" A brunette boy her age smiled serenely. "It's a great day today—warm and sunny. It feels so nice to be home." His bright blue eyes met hers and they both smiled knowingly. Over and over they'd thanked God for allowing each other to have made it home.

"You're too slow, Sora." She grinned, ruffling his naturally spiky hair with her hand. "So is Riku—I wanted to ask you a question. I have a request for both of you, but I need to ask because this isn't something that the both of you will just agree to happily. It may still be too early to ask you to do this…" Her voice made Sora wonder what she could possibly have wanted to ask, but he didn't say anything—he had to wait for Riku.

"You're no good, boy! _No good_! You show up late every day, you daydream nonstop-!" A voice of an older man told the two friends that Riku, the third part of their group, was nearby. "You ignore everything that I say, and now you walk out of class?! What are you _thinking_?" Mr. Carlisle, Riku's homeroom teacher, stood inside by a window with Riku standing in front of him.

Kairi and Sora couldn't help but chuckle at the bored look on Riku's face as he was being yelled at. Both of them knew very well that Riku didn't particularly care about school or that teacher and that he wasn't scared to show that. Getting a good talking-to was nothing compared to the things he had overcome in the past 2 years. Still, they wished he wouldn't do things that would draw more attention to themselves that what they had already gotten when the world was restored and they returned home.

Their welcome home had been the most shocking thing out of almost everything else they had learned. Some treated them like heroes, but the majority of the people blamed them for what happened or believed that the world was only restored by chance and they were taking the credit. Riku had the hardest time with it because he knew how hard Sora had worked and, even if he didn't get credit, he believed his best friend should.

"Are you listening to me even now?!"

Screaming at the top of his voice, Christopher Carlisle was losing it. This one student was the only person that he couldn't handle. Even after 7 years of teaching, he'd never had a student this _difficult_. He knew it didn't help that he was one that didn't believe his 'hero' story, but he didn't think it should matter as much as the boy made it. Every time the 'saving the world' theory was mentioned in the classroom, Riku would shut down and refuse to listen. The boy had a quiet rage burning in him and, in a way, Chris feared it. The story of him falling into the darkness and winning over it was completely possible.

"Will you never acknowledge me? How am I supposed to teach you if you act this way?" The teacher tried a different approach as he stared into the bored eyes of the student. "I'm TRYING to be reasonable! Why won't you do the same?" Silence was the only response. "Argh! FINE! Get out of here; go home." Riku slowly turned and walked out the door, heading for the exit of the school.

"Riku!" Kairi called to him when he came striding towards them. "What did you get into trouble for this time? Why can't you just go one day without making trouble?" His piercing blue eyes gave no clue that he was listening to the pretty young woman.

"What a day…" He sighed and shook his head. "Sora, why are you two here? I could have met up with you at home and you wouldn't have had to wait here for me." Running his hands through his hair he regarded his best friend.

"I was talking to you, Riku." Kairi huffed, putting her arms on her hips. "Are you mad at me too or something? It isn't fair if you are—I was just saying." Her voice was much softer and more apologetic.

"Kairi, you were yelling at me." Turning to her, he stated this with a flat tone. "Don't you think I've heard enough of that today? I'm going to forget that I ever had to listen to Mr. Carlisle speak so I don't want you to remind me or bother me about it, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded and looked toward Sora. "We waited for you because I have a question for you two." Suddenly she began to feel very nervous. It wouldn't be as hard for Sora as it would be for Riku…

"Okay, I'm listening." He said, glancing at Sora to see his nod before bringing his gaze back to Kairi.

"Well… Let's go back to the island! We haven't been there in forever!" Her fake excitement didn't do anything to help either of the boys. Sora's eyes widened and he refused to look away from Riku, who was suddenly very pale. "Riku…?"

"Yeah… It's been… too long." The silver-haired boy murmured absently. He couldn't refuse Kairi anything—he'd do anything for her. Could he take going back there, though? After all of what happened? After the worlds had closed them out and trapped them there again? Could he do it?

"Really-?!" Sora and Kairi both said in unison, surprised.

"I was almost sure that you'd say 'no way!' You haven't been the same since the adventure…" Kairi murmured, looking in his eyes and trying to figure out what he was thinking. "Are you sure it's okay? Maybe we should wait…?"

"No, that's alright, let's go." He sounded almost angry as he walked past her. The aggravation of realizing weakness was taking its toll on him. Why couldn't he hide the way he changed during the trip away from home? Was it really that obvious how different he was from when he had started the journey?

"Are you really sure, Riku?" Sora started to walk after him, smiling and looking towards the island. "I'm glad, though. I think it'll be good for us to go back to where it all began." His grin made both of his friends smile slightly.

"I still can't believe we were going to try using a raft!" With a giggle, Kairi ran to catch up with the two. "Can you imagine where we would be if we'd actually done that? There's no way that we'd leave this world if we did that!"

"We would have been together when the world was swallowed up, though. The darkness wouldn't have got to us because we all would have used the keyblade to get us out of here safely!" The conversation that was going on didn't interest Riku as they walked to the small boats on the beach. His thoughts were on the small island and the exact place where he chose the darkness—the place where his heart lost to Sora's.

If Riku had chosen the light, the keyblade would have been his. Everyone knew that his heart was stronger than Sora's but, as Riku found out, choices determine a leader. Unfortunately, he made the wrong choice when faced with leaving the world and his family.

"Speaking of family…" Riku murmured, gaining the attention of Sora and Kairi. "I need to call Daryl in a little bit and tell him where I am. He'll be worried if I show up really late and don't say anything."

"Daryl is just like a dad to you, isn't he Riku?" Kairi laughed while running over to a little boat that belonged to her. "It's so cute to see you guys worrying about each other! I mean, I'm just glad you finally got over your family's disappearance. It was tragic, but…" She jumped into the boat and tried to balance herself before looking over to see if she had offended her friend.

"He isn't anything like my father. He's still here." Climbing into his own little vessel, he scowled at the comparison. "It's not like it really matters anyway. I mean, I'm seventeen now. Even if my real parents were still here, I'd be leaving the house soon to live on my own. This is a time when I need my parents the least."

"Riku, you're real parents disappeared when you were nine. You still needed them then." Sora said something that made both Kairi and Riku stop—Kairi stopped in worry and Riku in shock. "I mean, maybe you don't need them now, but it's still a wound that won't heal easily. Is replacing your dad the right way to do it?" The innocent look on the boy's face was killing Riku as he fought against anger that he couldn't actually feel towards his best friend.

"I'm not replacing anyone. Who would need to replace those people? They didn't just disappear, Sora, they left!" Even though he tried not to get angry, he still ended up yelling. "Sorry… Just… Let's not talk about that, okay?" Suddenly, he felt very tired—talking about certain things always left him that way. The topic of is real parents was a touchy subject for him.

The trio kicked off into the water and sailed to the island in silence. Kairi and Sora were afraid to say anything else because they didn't know if they would make Riku even madder. Riku, on the other hand, was just lost in thought. He hadn't been to the island in a very long time—years, it seemed like—and he didn't know what to expect. What was he supposed to feel when he looked back out over the waves like he had before he left? Would the ocean still hold the same intrigue it had when he was younger? Had everything changed for _him_ because it stayed the same? His outlook on everything—the fascination he used to feel and his old feelings of curiosity and happiness—was gone.

"We're here!" Sora cried happily, jumping out of his boat and running towards the beach. When he reached the center of it he turned towards the water and took a deep breath. "It's so amazing!" He yelled out to the sea, grinning so wide that his face hurt. "It's been way too long since we've been here! I used to sleep right here!" With that being said, he plopped onto the ground and laid down, putting his hands behind his head to act as a pillow.

"Nothing has changed at all, has it?" Kairi laughed, joining the kid-ish little boy that she loved. "Be careful or you're going to have sand all in your clothes." Sitting down, she giggled to him. Both of them forgot Riku for one second as they looked at each other. Then, almost like snapping out of a trance, they both look away with a blush—Sora towards Riku and Kairi towards the little shack to their left.

Riku didn't say a word; he just walked to the shack and opened the door, ignoring the calls from Sora. He climbed the stairs slowly, much more slowly than he would have before he had left the island. Looking at nothing in particular but taking in all the sights, he felt as if he were walking in a dream—a wonderful dream that used to be happy but now only made his heart ache. It used to be so joyful—he was so young and unknowing back then—but now the joy was over and only left behind the memory to haunt him.

When Riku opened the door and walked outside the sun shone right in his eyes. Too bright, he thought as he covered them with his arm. He walked over to the Paopu Tree that he used to sit on when he was younger and looked at the ocean. So vast and so open; the ocean would never hide secrets or ignore pains. When angry or upset, the sea could be deadly.

"At least it doesn't have to hide behind lies or put up a facade, though." Riku murmured, climbing up onto the tree and sitting down. He watched the waves crash up against the side of the little peninsula and thought of what he could do.

Nothing had worked out for him. Even when he had finally gotten his adventure—the one he would dream about since he was just a child—Sora was the one who got to go free. Sora was the one who got the keyblade and traveled from world to world. Riku gave his everything to save Kairi, yet Sora was the one dubbed 'hero' in the end. He was still the one that Kairi chose even though Riku had given up his dream—his dream to leave the world and find his meaning—for her heart. The only thing he had gotten for all of it was the emptiness of finding the last 2 years of his life wasted.

"Hey, Riku, it's getting dark!" Finally one of Sora's yells got to him and he turned around. Much to his surprise the sun was nearly gone behind the ocean's vast body and the stars were almost visible. "Kairi and I are going home. Do you want to wait here or come with us?" Kairi fidgeted a little and refused to look at either of the boys, telling Riku to stay without saying a word.

"I think I'll stay here for just a little bit longer, if you don't mind." Smiling softly, he wondered if Sora would even figure out why Kairi wanted to go with him.

Even though Sora was braver than anyone else Riku knew and incredibly strong, he feared he would never understand women. It wasn't like he knew a whole lot about them either, but Kairi was being obvious in hopes of getting Sora's full attention, a task that was nearly impossible seeing as he would probably be considered ADHD if he ever had a check-up with the doctor. Still, Riku decided that he'd give them a chance even though he knew he would regret it later. Hopefully Sora would miraculously catch on.

"Um… See you later, Riku!" Both of jumped onto their designated boats and rode away, Kairi smiling and laughing as Sora attempted to tell her a (probably horribly lame) joke. In a matter of minutes they were both so far away that Riku could no longer see them. With a deep sigh, he laid down on the curved tree, looking over at the sea again. Before he knew it, the sun was gone and the stars were all over the sky.

The island felt lonely when everyone else was gone. When he was younger—had he ever actually been that young?—he would have ran off on an adventure by himself in a heartbeat. He would refer to it as 'having some peace' even though he didn't need any more alone time than he already had. Now that he had witnessed what it was like to be alone, he was afraid of it.

As Riku laid there looking over the sea he had an epiphany. He realized that, when all said and done, he wasn't _needed_. His best friends didn't need him because they had each other—when they finally got together they'd stop talking to him anyway. Especially since Kairi knew that he used to love her—still did, really. His father figure, Daryl, was so busy with his fiancé that he would barely have time to miss someone that wasn't even his son. If he disappeared, most people wouldn't even realize he was gone. Would anyone come after him or try to stop him if they knew?

The fact that he could be replaced was something that made him go cold; he felt sick. His head was blank as he slowly rose, standing and looking at the small dot of an island where he lived. For a few moments, he wondered if there was an earthquake as his whole world shook. Then, he finally realized that he was trembling. He cried out and grabbed at his chest, where he felt his heart aching. After a minute, he looked up at the sky with tear-filled eyes and yelled again in anger.

"WHY AM I HERE?!" He grabbed at his hair and fell to his knees, shaking his head. "I did everything to figure that out and SORA was the one who did everything! All I could do- nothing! I couldn't do anything. My entire journey was figuring out about the darkness and light and saving Kairi. What good will all that do me HERE?" He shook his head again in frustration.

"RIKU!" A familiar voice made him turn around, still angry and quivering, to see who was there. "Riku, you're here… I was so worried about you! Come to find out, I should have been. What are you doing?" Daryl's face made a part of Riku—the part that was threatening his life—calm down a little. "Are you okay?"

"Daryl…" He murmured, rising to his feet, a dead look on his face. "Daryl, I want to go home…"

"Riku, you look like hell. Are you really okay?" He put his hands on Riku's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "I can't help but feel worried about you—especially when I see you like this. You look like you're about to throw yourself into the sea or something." Riku stared up at his "father" in wonder. The fact that he had guessed right on what he had been planning was just surprising to him.

"No, I'm fine." He smiled softly, glancing at Daryl before looking around. "Where's Renee? I thought she'd be with you."

"My fiancée can take care of herself, you know. She's looking for you, though, if you really must know." He smiled softly at the guilty look on Riku's face. "You should have warned us that you were going somewhere."

"I was going to, really!" The more time Riku spent with his "father", the more he felt as if everything would be okay. He was beginning to calm down and think more clearly. "I shouldn't have made you worry, though. Especially Renee—she's got to stay calm for-"

"She'll be fine." Daryl grinned realizing what Riku was thinking. "The little one shouldn't be hurt by something like _that._"

"Still, ever since she got pregnant it seems as if she's trying to overexert herself. I get worried." He muttered, facing away. Something in the sky got his attention and he looked up to see something falling. "Hey… What's that?"

Just then, the object fell into the ocean, causing a huge splash. Even though the waves should have pulled the thing out towards sea it floated—it almost looked above the water—towards them. Riku jumped off the peninsula into the water, a familiar feeling of curiosity burning in him. When he got to the shore where the object was resting, though, he stopped.

Frail-looking and very pale was the girl in the water. Her long blond hair spread out in the inch of water that she was laying in and her tattered white dress rode up to a little above her knees. She looked as if she were a few years younger than Riku, but he wondered if she was younger than he thought—there was no way someone near his age could be so small.

"Who is it, Riku?" Daryl asked, bending down beside Riku to look at the young miss that fell before them.

"I'm not sure." Riku replied, lifting the little girl's head out of the water. Light as a feather, he thought with a shake of his head. "She just… fell. You saw that too, right? I'm not going crazy am I?"

"No, I saw it too. She floated over the water to here—the waves should have pulled her out." Just then, the little girl's eyes fluttered and she turned her head, coughing from the impact of hitting the water.

"Are you okay?" Riku found himself whispering, feeling ridiculously shy around the unknown girl. "Can you tell me your name? Are you hurt? Is there anything wrong—other than you hitting the water?"

Two beautiful, cerulean blue eyes looked up at Riku in a frightened realization. The little woman shot up and turned around to face him, suddenly gasping for air. Although her panic was expected, it still irritated him since he hadn't done anything wrong. With a little bit of effort, he kept his voice calm and quiet.

"Can you tell me your name? We'll try and find your parents." Riku asked, looking up at Daryl for support. Much to his irritation, his guardian's eyes were towards the water where a small boat was headed their way. "I won't hurt you."

"Alena," She croaked, swaying from sitting up too quickly. Riku caught her before she fell and held her as she concentrated on clearing her throat.

"Do you know where you came from?" His attempt at a serious question seemed to be blown down as she pointed towards the sky. Fighting against the anger he felt towards the young woman before him, he tried a different route. "What happened to you? Why did you fall?" Once again he got a response that he wasn't looking for—a shrug. Her eyes were so wide and innocent; it was so hard to be mad at her. What an incredibly dangerous woman…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2; Little Angel

"Alena!" Worried and frazzled, Darcy, an attractive dark-haired angel, looked around. Her frantic calls were drown out by the air of the tiny world where she had seen her best friend fall. She was terrified for the frail girl that she had grown to love so much.

Since Darcy was a dark angel and not a guardian angel like Alena, she hadn't had any idea exactly what to expect when she heard Alena's "protectee" had died. She had been told soon after it happened, though, that it meant Alena would never become a regular angel. The young, wonderful girl would never learn to talk or fly or heal or any other abilities that other angels would have. No one had ever told her that it meant she would be gotten rid of, though.

Only a few people knew of Alena's true stature and why she didn't quite fit in with the rest of the angels. If she had only known—she could have protected the girl, her best and truest friend. Now all she could do was look for her friend and pray that no one else would figure out her true weakness—her humanity.

"Alena!!!" Once again, Darcy tried to call for her friend. She sincerely wished that she had seen who the person that had carried her off looked like. As she looked through the faces of the people on the tiny main island, she realized that she really didn't know if anyone would know who she was talking about. The sun would be going down soon, and she was growing more and more anxious. All she could do was pray to God that he had kept Alena safe.

The cool outside air helped to calm Riku down as he looked at the ocean from the hill where his house was located. He could smell and taste the salty breeze coming from the waves. The sky was pink and purple all around, giving it a pretty, peaceful feeling. All the houses down the street had their lights on—it made the twilight seem normal. If Riku hadn't known better he would have thought that only Daryl and Renee were inside. One would be fixing to start breakfast and the other would be talking or watching tv. However, that was not the case after the day before.

Riku had tried almost all night to talk to the mysterious girl he had met with his father the day before, but, through the entire time, she said nothing but her name. Frustration was getting the best of Riku by now—especially when he thought of the irony of it all. He wasn't even truly over Kairi yet and this weird, beautiful girl falls from the sky, literally. Still, he tried to be as patient as he could with her because he knew she was scared.

Exhaustion was making Riku's mind useless as he tried to take in the scenery. He was starting to wish he had just went to bed when he had gotten home instead of deciding to attempt to talk to Alena, the girl, for so long. He stood in the middle of the empty street and watched the sun rise slowly over the water just visible past the houses.

Just before Riku turned to go inside, he caught sight of a girl, who was dressed in the weirdest clothes he'd ever seen, walking down the street. She looked as if she had been crying for a while before then, and right then she sobbed. He groaned internally as his gentlemanly side made him turn to the girl—he didn't have the heart to leave her without asking what was wrong, no matter how tired he was.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" He murmured, walking towards her. With wide eyes she looked around and then looked back at him. "Can I help you with anything?" His voice sounded snippy and annoyed, he knew, but he was tired of the weird responses from people.

"You can see me?" She asked after a moment, surprising Riku with the strange question.

"Of course I can! You have the weirdest get-up on I'VE ever seen." Once again his words came out harsher than he meant them to be.

"If you can see me… Have you met a small blond girl lately? Her name is Alena." The woman ventured, her tears stopped and a sort of fire lit up her purple-ish colored eyes.

"Yes, I have. She fell from the sky." It struck Riku as funny as he said this and he started laughing. "Oh God, I need to sleep…" He muttered, shaking his head.

"Don't say the Lord's name in vain." The woman snapped for the first time since she'd seen Riku. "I can't believe you humans—poor Alena's had to stay with you all night."

"Excuse me?!" He cried out, anger boiling in his chest. "I've done everything I can to help that girl! I haven't slept all night, in fact, because I've been trying to figure out where to return her to!" Taking big steps towards the girl, he heard his voice raising in volume and, for the first time in a while, didn't care if it bothered someone. "I don't even know your name yet and you're already saying such ridiculous things! And what the hell—you humans?! What does that make you, then?"

Once again, it seemed that he had shocked the girl. She regained her composure after just a moment, though, and the anger left her face. She bowed her head and murmured an apology to the handsome, weird human in front of her. She knew for a fact that normal humans couldn't see her—much less have a whole conversation with her. What was this boy?

"May I please see my dear friend, Alena?" She whispered, changing her entire approach. He closed his eyes for a moment and relaxed, seeming to be asleep on his feet.

"We let her go to sleep a few hours ago. She was really tired and I didn't have the heart to keep her awake any longer." His response made the dark haired girl smile softly. Behind his yelling and bad language, he was very kind—humans were so strange…

"Can I at least come in until she wakes up?" She murmured, looking up at his serene face, waiting for him to open his eyes again. "I don't need a place to sleep or anything—I just want to wait until Alena wakes up…"

"Fine, go in and sit on the couch. I'm going to bed, though—I can hardly keep my eyes open. I really hope I didn't have anything planned today; I don't remember if I did…" He turned slowly and walked back into the house, the girl following him.

Daryl and Renee were both on the couch when Riku came back in with her. Renee was laying on her fiancé's lap, fast asleep, while Daryl was sitting and watching TV. When the 25-year-old looked down at Renee, Riku had to look away, though. The love he held for the woman was apparent on Daryl's face. It made Riku uncomfortable and embarrassed—not to mention the fact that it reminded him of how he used to look at Kairi, and how she didn't notice.

Darcy looked at the couple on the couch and smiled softly. Humans were such confusing creatures. They would lie, cheat, steal, kill—but they also could love with their whole hearts. The particular man in the room showed such love that she could feel the emotion herself—a gift that came from being an angel—from across the room. There was another emotion—a stronger one—that drew her attention away, though.

Such sadness was normally only felt before an unfortunate person would end their life. Darcy had witnessed it many times, but there was such confusion in the aura around the young man beside her that she knew he was indecisive on that. He hadn't yet made plans to do anything drastic.

'How long would it take, though?' She wondered absently as she was being led to Alena's room. 'How long could anyone survive such sorrow?' Darcy began to feel depressed herself.

Just when Darcy was about to cry from distress, Riku's emotions became jumbled again. This time, though, there was no trace of depression. He was frustrated and guilty for some reason. Also, when he opened the door and saw little Alena, a feeling of awe and embarrassment washed away the rest. Darcy giggled softly, knowing that it was normal for a person to feel that angels were beautiful. Some unfortunate men had even fallen for them from time to time, but she couldn't trace any love in the emotions—just care and responsibility.

"She's pretty isn't she?" She had asked this to get a blush out of the handsome young man, but she was given an opposite reaction. He smiled softly and nodded.

"She's kind of a hassle, though. She won't speak." He put his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes again.

"She can't." Darcy whispered, as if saying it would hurt the girl. "She hasn't ever learned how—she couldn't learn how, more like." She knew that the young human boy wouldn't understand what she was talking about, but she felt the need to defend her helpless friend. "Alena has other ways of telling what she wants, but… Sometimes they're hard to understand."

"Perhaps you could teach me more about that later…" He murmured. "I would very much like to understand her—some new friends are just what I need…" The sadness had returned to his aura even stronger than before. He sighed softly and left the room with a heart full of self hatred.

"How can he deal with such sadness?" Right as Darcy asked this Alena's eyes opened. The look on her face told Darcy that she had been awake while Riku had been in the room. "Did you feel it too?" She asked. Alena nodded slowly before giving Darcy a meaningful look. The little girl touched her friend's hand gently, making the angel gasp at what she saw. "Don't be ridiculous!" She cried out, shaking her head. "What do you think you could do?"

"D-…D-…Darcy…" The girl mumbled, concentrating hard on saying something—anything. Unfortunately, that's all she could manage; she was still unable to speak. Her face turned into a determined glare and she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Why do you want to stay here? Where will you live? You have to keep a job, you know. You'll need to know how to read and write and talk—those are just a few of the things you _can't _do!" She whispered harshly, refusing to let her friend do as she pleased. "Please, listen to reason! Why would you want to stay here?" Once again Darcy was touched a warm hand. After just a second she pulled away and shook her head vigorously. "There's nothing you can do to help! He's beyond help!"

"Who is?" Much to both of their surprise, Riku stood outside with a grim look on his face. Both of the girls could tell that he knew exactly who they had been 'talking' about. His glare scared Darcy to the core, making her go rigid. She didn't fear for herself, but for her foolish friend that refused to listen to her.

'This man is dangerous!' She thought with wide eyes. His stare didn't soften as he directed his gaze to her.

"Am I beyond hope, then?" He persisted, taking a step forward. Darcy backed away and tried to put herself in front of Alena—she may feel pain, but Alena could be killed. She would never let that happen. "I could tell there was something off about you two when you first came here—what the hell ARE you?"

"S-stay away!" The older angel stuttered, shaking her head enough to move her hair around her face.

"No." He answered simply, walking toward them. "What have I done wrong? Did I glare too cruelly while you were talking about me? Is my anger unjustified?" Sarcasm dripped from his voice and he came to a step beside the bed, looking down at the two surprised faces.

"If you dare lay one finger on her-!" Darcy shrieked, making Riku raise his eyebrow. Alena reached out and grabbed her hand then, pulling her away from him. She stood up to her full height—a mere 4'5—and looked up—right into Riku's eyes. The next thing that happened was something that he could never explain to someone else.

A warm sensation entered his body—first from his head and traveling all the way to his toes. Calm spread through him and the anger dissipated. All at once, his head was filled with colors. They were everywhere. There were blues and greens and yellows and reds; he stood watching them, not knowing what it meant. Finally the color settled on one, a dark green.

In his heart, emotions that weren't his started to fill him up—anger and sadness and confusion and pain. Then one drowned the rest of them out; it was determination. For some reason, the color and the emotion fit so well together that Riku knew exactly what she wanted, exactly what she meant. She wanted to stay somewhere near him (though he didn't know why), and she didn't want anyone to fight or yell anymore.

After a few moments, the colors disappeared. Riku blinked a few times in confusion and looked down at the tiny smiling girl before him. At first he was at a loss for words. What could someone say to something so miraculous? Then, he realized he didn't have to say anything at all. He felt his lips move on their own, returning the smile. The calm he felt when she had first laid hands on him was still there, surprising him with its strength.

"Amazing," he finally whispered, shaking his head softly. "That is the most unique way of communicating I've ever seen. I almost wonder if I have been dreaming all of this—that would be the only logical explanation I can think of…"

"It's not logic that you should be thinking of. Miracles can never be explained through such a useless thing." Darcy snapped, still not happy with her friend's decision. Just because she caught him off-guard doesn't mean that she was anywhere near safe. She couldn't just step aside and let Alena make such a mistake.

With a venomous glare, Darcy strode over to her friend and pulled her away from the boy. Alena seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, though, and yanked away from her with a puff. Her innocence made her anger seem almost as fragile as she was—like she would smile any moment—but, as her best friend, Darcy knew better. With a sigh of defeat, the older of the two looked down.

"Fine." She growled, refusing to look at the blond beauty. "I'll let you stay for now. I'm going to be keeping an eye on you, though—both of you." As Darcy said this, she stormed toward the door, hitting Riku in the shoulder as she walked out. Alena seemed to have not seen this, so he just sighed and shook his head.

"It's so easy to make enemies these days…" He grumbled, looking at the doorway. "Anyways, you and I need to get back to sleep—I couldn't survive school today anyway." He closed his eyes, finding the silence from the girl strange, but expected. When he opened them again, he found a curious look on her face—like she didn't know what he was talking about.

"M?" She made a noise like a question. Riku knew what she was asking about.

"You know, school… The place where every person has to go in order to learn things like Math and English and reading and writing…" He trailed off, wondering why her eyes were lighting up like that.

As for little Alena, Darcy's earlier words were still echoing through her head:

"_You'll need to know how to read and write and talk—those are just a few of the things you can't do!"_

It was as if someone was willing it to be, begging her to stay. Everything seemed to make sense. She would go to school, learn to read and write and maybe even talk, and then she'd get a job! Then she'd be able to stay as long as she wanted on the little island—no one could stop her!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3; School

After the first day with Alena, Riku started to feel comfortable around her; like there was a strong force attracting him to her. Daryl and Renee had a lot to ask about all of it, but when they had heard all that they could from Riku and Darcy and when Alena showed them her talent they didn't mind. It was quiet in the house most of the time, so Riku was sure it wouldn't bother Alena, and she would be company for him.

Renee and Daryl were off very early the next Monday to go to the doctor's, as they had done every week for two months. Riku had forgotten about Alena when he first woke up to find the house empty and immediately felt a pang of loneliness. It was the kind of unhappiness that was hard to brush off, and he wondered if he would be a selfish older brother when the child was born.

"After all," he said to himself, breaking the silence as he walked down the stairs. "A baby requires a lot of attention. I can't expect to see much of Daryl and Renee after this…" He trailed off when he heard something from downstairs.

"_The weather should be nice today, up in the 80's. It's a great Monday for kids going to school too, because the storms won't hit until after seven tonight. Back to Mary to tell about driving this morning…_"

"Why is the news on?" Riku murmured as he walked in the door to the living room.

Curled up on the couch sat Alena smiling and holding her face in her hands. Her worn little dress was beside her, and she was wearing a light purple sundress in its place. When she heard Riku come in, she grinned brightly, causing Riku to blush and grin back.

"How do you do that, anyway?" Riku asked as he sat down beside her. "It's like I don't have a choice to whether I smile back or not, you make me." He leaned his head back against the maroon couch, facing her.

Alena reached out and touched Riku's hand, sending colors flying through his brain to send a message. They were bright colors that morning, showing how good of a mood Alena was in at that moment. She squeezed his hand and got up, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"What is it?" He asked as he saw her impatient look. He was surprised to witness her _tug _to try and make him stand up, so surprised that he laughed, making her angry. "No, I'm sorry, I'm getting up." She quickly pulled him into the kitchen and pointed at a picture on his refrigerator.

It was taken only a few months before, when Daryl, Kairi, Sora, and he had gone to school together for parent-teacher conference day. Sora had come up with an entire game that day involving 3 balls, a bat, his head, and a brick wall—Riku cracked up at the memory. He had watched the game in an amused awe, wondering how in the _world_ Sora ever thought up such strange things.

When Riku looked back up, he found Alena running to the living room again, just to return with two backpacks and another grin. She held one out to Riku and put the other on herself.

"Oooh no!" He cried, giving her a disapproving look. "How would you survive school? Can you read or write? We both know you can't talk." Tears started to fall down her cheeks, and Riku stopped. "Aw, come on, Alena…" He grumbled, grabbing a tissue from the counter and wiping away her tears. "Come on, it's hard enough at school for _me_, it'd be hell for you." Her reaction to this was both shocking and hilarious.

With a quick motion, Alena grabbed his hand tightly, all color draining from her face. Swirls of black and purple mixed together in Riku's head and he sensed her fear. Much to her surprise, though, he laughed.

"It's a figure of speech, dear." He stated, smiling softly at her ignorance. Her eyes widened a little in realization, and she calmed down. "This is going to be difficult… See, if you get confused over me saying that, you'd never make it in school. People say all sorts of things at school that are inappropriate and rude." Riku explained taking her hand and marveling at the swirls of colors.

"Mm…" Alena murmured, looking up at him and shaking her head. The color focused on orange, a determined, mildly angry orange that told him that she wouldn't be giving up any time soon. She obviously really wanted to go to school, much to Riku's surprise. Then, when he sighed in a defeated way, she flashed a blindingly bright smile and ran off to get ready; leaving him feeling embarrassed and confused.

After a little while, Alena ran back down the stairs in the same purple sundress that Renee had loaned her but with her hair all made up in braids that winded down her back. She ran into the kitchen and collapsed into a chair by the refrigerator. Riku watched with mild amusement from the couch, ignoring the TV to watch her.

"What do you plan to eat this morning?" He asked, drawing her attention. "Do angels eat certain things? I mean, can you eat meat or…" He stopped when he saw the look on her face. She had become very pale and shook her head violently. "You're a vegetarian?" Once again, she shook her head, looking over at a plant in his window and petting it softly. "You don't eat that either because it lives?" He guessed, his voice becoming sarcastic. "Then what do you eat? I mean, there's milk…" She smiled and nodded to this, holding out her hands as if expecting him to use magic to get her milk.

"Mmm…" She hummed, closing her eyes and tilting her head back and forth. Riku got up from the couch and went over to the refrigerator, pulling out milk and a cup.

"There, you dork." He laughed, putting down the cup for her.

"How dare you call her a dork!" A voice cried from the doorway. There stood Darcy, not surprisingly. "I don't understand," she came over to him in a flash. "Why you think," she continued, her movements almost too fast to see as she grabbed a cup. "You can get away with that." She had already poured herself some milk before Riku had time to comment.

"Did you come in here to yell at me or steal my milk?" Riku asked sardonically.

"Both!" Darcy answered immediately, her face serious. He couldn't help but start laughing at the sight of her. "What's funny?" She asked, her eyes narrowing to slits.

"You!" He cried, shaking his head. "You two are so interesting. Are you coming to school too, Darcy?" His grin made her uncomfortable, so she became even sourer. Quickly, she drained the contents of her cup and slammed it down on the table.

"Of course!" To this, Alena cried out and ran to hug her, knocking her over in the process and sloshing some of her own breakfast.

Riku carefully stepped over the girls and grabbed a paper towel, mopping up the milk with a sort of uncontrollable happiness (along with the urge to bust up laughing). He turned around and threw the paper towel in the trash, picking up a piece of paper and a pen on the way back. Both of the girls were back up by now and watching him curiously.

Alena touched his hand just as Darcy asked, "What are you doing?" Swirls of confusing colors entered his head, making him dizzy; the colors were asking him the same question as the older angel.

"I'm writing a note to Daryl and Renee to tell them where you are, Alena." He said it as if it were completely obvious. "If they come home and you aren't here, they may go looking for you. I'm just telling them that you're with me." As he explained this, he started to write the words on the page. The colors in his head switched to shades and feelings of amazement.

"It's not that hard, Alena. Don't be impressed with him--he's probably an amateur anyway!" Darcy frowned, pouring more milk into the cup that had been emptied right before Alena had jumped on her. She leaned over and poured more into the younger girl's cup as well. Both of them drank the substance thankfully.

"You know, if you guys had told me you were so hungry I would have fed you earlier." Riku laughed lightly, finishing his note and using a magnet to stick it to the fridge. "We're about out of milk, though, so remind me after school to get some." He turned in time to catch Darcy's nod. "Great, so… Are you ready?"

It only took the three of them a few minutes to get to school with Riku by their side. He seemed to know every shortcut in the city, but some of the things (like cars) seemed to scare Alena. When the three got to a large building in the center of the island, they were surprised to see two more people waiting for them.

"Riku!" One of them cried out, running forward. "I heard that you didn't come home--we were worried sick about you!" Kairi cried, hitting him in the arm and making as angry of a face as she could muster.

"Riku, I knew you'd be back!" The other person, Sora, walked up with his arms behind his back and a huge grin on his face. "Kairi was a little worried there for a little bit, but I knew you could take care of yourself." His eyes seemed to be begging Riku to compliment him on his good work.

"What are you talking about?" Kairi's laughing voice cut in. "You were rushing about, nearly crying, wondering whether it was something you did that made him run away. You should have seen him, Riku. I'd never seen him in such a state!" She laughed happily, grabbing his hand while Sora blushed and punched his arm playfully.

"There was no need to worry…" Riku murmured guiltily, remembering his thoughts the night before. He swore that he'd never admit that to anyone else, though. He'd never try to kill himself again either--maybe he was needed a little after all.

"It's incredibly rude to leave Alena over here without introducing her or anything." Darcy's voice called out. When Riku turned around, he found her pouting profusely, arms crossed and full lips pulled down in a frown.

"I'm so sorry, _Alena._" He said, trying not to laugh. "I suppose I should introduce you." He took Alena's hand with the one that Kairi wasn't holding and pulled her forward. "This is Alena, you guys."

"Hey!" Darcy called again, hurt apparent in her voice. "You're gonna introduce me too, aren't you?" Her childish tone made him grin, surprising Kairi and Sora as they looked at him.

"But Darcy, you only said that I needed to introduce Alena--which I was getting to, by the way." He let go of both of the girls' hands and turned around. "Maybe you should rephrase what you said, and leave the introductions to me, hm?" He held out his hand as he said this, and she came over to take it.

"You're mean." She stated, frowning. "Alena thinks you're nice, but you're mean."

"I don't hear you rephrasing anything…" Riku reminded her lightly, grabbing Alena's hand again and pulling both of the girls to the school. Kairi and Sora just stared in wonder.

"Meanie!" came the reply. "Ok… Maybe you should introduce me _and _Alena 'cuz it's rude not to." She huffed and looked away from him. "…Please." This part was muttered because she didn't want him to hear, but she had been 'raised' better than to _not _say it. Unfortunately for her, he did hear and his smile grew even wider.

"Sora, Kairi, _this _is Darcy." He grinned back to his friends. The two of them threw each other a worried glance and ran to catch up with their best friend.

"Hi, I'm Sora." Sora was the first to speak. "It's nice to meet you, Alena, Darcy." He nodded to both of them as he spoke. Alena quickly grabbed his hand to communicate, making both him and Kairi jump.

"U-um, hi, I'm Kairi." Kairi growled, peeling Alena's fingers off of Sora's hand just to feel the same amazement as he had a moment before. "What in the world…" She murmured, staring off into space--concentrating on the colors, from the look on her face. Alena beamed at them, her face lighting up beautifully as she realized that they liked her form of speaking. Riku felt himself staring at her smile, but it took him a few minutes to pull away, in which time Kairi recovered enough to notice his difficulty.

"That's Alena." He finally said, shaking his head softly. "She can't actually speak, but she can do _that._" When he looked up, he saw the slightly evil smile on Kairi's face and immediately felt worried. "What?"

"You're awfully pretty, Alena." She commented, ignoring Riku. Alena blushed lightly and tilted her head back and forth in a happy dance. She touched Kairi's hand again, sending waves of thanks to her. "Are you sure it's safe to be walking around in a sundress with a face like that? You may attract boys you don't want."

"You let me take care of that." Darcy spoke up, sending Kairi a look that actually scared her. "I'll protect Alena no matter what--it'd be in those boys' best interest if they stayed away. Not to mention the fact," she turned to Riku as she said this. "That Riku is technically responsible for her right now. Your father would be very angry if he knew that you let anything happen to her."

"I wouldn't let anything happen to her even if he didn't care!" Riku retorted, anger flashing across his features.

"Nothing except letting her fall in the water and maybe even drown!" Darcy cried out, waving her hands around. "You didn't even catch her either--you could have saved her a lot of pain, you know!"

"If I had tried to catch her, it would have _killed _me, woman!" Riku cried out. Alena's face changed from happiness to worry in an instant and she reached out her hand to touch Riku. Before she got to, though, something happened that shut both of them up. The bell rang.

Riku swore, making both of the girls gasp in horror. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I said a bad word." He grumbled, pushing them both toward the door. "We're going to be late, though. I haven't even told the principal that you two are going to school here!" As he said this, all three of them ran into the hall, disappearing from Sora and Kairi's sight.

"Huh…" Kairi mumbled, turning to Sora. "Those three are… weird. Riku never acted like that before…" Sora nodded and grinned over at her. "I wonder how his teacher will react if he and that Darcy girl start fighting like that in class…"

"Or better yet, if Alena has to break them up!" Sora laughed as they both started up the steps. "How will she introduce herself to the class?"

"This is going to be a really interesting day!"

"Ah, Riku--you're late, as usual." When the three of them finally made it to class, Mr. Carlisle was waiting for them. "I don't suppose you have an excuse this time?" He snapped, turning to face him. He was surprised to see two girls standing next to him. "You got a few girlfriends now?"

"They're my friends, and they're girls, if that's what you mean." Riku responded, blushing slightly. "They'll be going here for the last couple of weeks of school. Let me introduce you to them--this is…"

"I'm sure they can speak for themselves." Christopher Carlisle replied, cutting him off with a wave of his hand. He was once again shocked when the three shared meaningful looks and started laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Well, Alena is kind of like a mute." Riku explained, pointing over to the blond girl on his right. "I mean, she can only say her name and maybe Darcy's--and she has trouble with that even."

"Alena!" The little girl smiled, looking from Mr. Carlisle to Riku and back. Her excitement made everyone feel guilty for their bickering. Alena tried to walk over to the teacher to show him her way of speaking, but Riku and Darcy both grabbed at her.

"…Well, take a seat then." The teacher sighed, shaking his head. "Alena, you sit to the right of Riku, and you--the other one--you can sit in front of him… That's the only spots available… But if you talk…"

"Got it." Riku shrugged off his attempted threat and continued walking, pulling the girls along with him. "I hope you guys are ready to learn something boring and probably pointless in the real world." He said loudly, ignoring the growls coming from his least favorite teacher. "Don't worry, Alena, I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself more than anyone else here… You tend to get excited over weird things, after all…"

The day went surprisingly fast with Alena and Darcy there by Riku's side. They didn't run into any real trouble until they got to lunch. Riku had to give Darcy and Alena his milk and buy them extra of their own in order to make them happy (and have Darcy stop complaining), but he liked having other people at the table. Kairi and Darcy really were getting along very nicely, and Alena seemed to enjoy watching everyone talk from Riku's side. When the three finally decided it was time to go home, they had wore themselves out from laughing and talking and learning. It had been a good day.

It was hot and humid outside at 3:20 when it was time to leave. Kairi groaned out loud and wiped sweat off of her forehead while Sora crouched over. All of them were worn out by the heat almost immediately, and none of them knew what to do to make it better. After the day before, none of them mentioned the island for fear that Riku would freak out (or because they didn't know it was an option).

"I cannot walk anymore!!!" Darcy cried out after walking a few blocks away from the school. She sat down in the middle of the street and crossed her arms unhappily. "It's hot and sticky and miserable…"

"And we all have to listen to _you._" Riku added under his breath. Darcy heard him even though he'd said it quietly.

"Excuse _me_, Riku, but you're one of the most depressing people I've ever met, so if I were you, I'd fix myself before pointing out flaws in others." She snapped irritably.

"Yeah, I may be depressing…" He admitted slowly. "But at least I'm not insufferably annoying!" He turned around and strode toward her, feeling the urge to yell and scream at the girl in front of him.

"Why do you two constantly fight?" Sora asked, huffing for air. "Do you like each other or something? The only other people I've seen fight like that is my cousin and her boyfriend--they make me sick sometimes…" But no one else heard the rest of it; they were all too busy denying his accusation.

"Like _her_?! How could anyone like something like that?" Riku snorted, shaking his head and wondering why he was so embarrassed. In the meantime, Darcy was saying things similar to what he was about how much of a disgrace he was and why she could never like him. Just when the two of them were about to fight again, a thought dawned on them.

"Where's Alena?" Riku asked, looking around in a sudden panic. "Alena?!" He ran back down the street where he had come and saw the little figure sitting on the sidewalk looking quite tired. "Alena, you scared me to death." Riku stated when he was finally by her.

"Alena, oh Alena!" Darcy pushed Riku aside and hugged her friend. Alena looked even more faint than before when she did that, though, and Riku was sure that she was just hot.

"Get off, you ditz! She's overheating." Riku got back up quickly and pulled Darcy away from Alena. "Here, I have some water. Don't drink it too fast or you'll get sick." He pulled his backpack off his shoulders and got out a bottle of water, handing it to her. She took it and gulped it down thirstily. "Can you walk?" When Alena touched his hand to show him, it only showed colors of exhaustion, so he turned around and pointed to his back. "I'll carry you then."

"W-what?" Darcy was startled, but when she turned to him she felt that his intentions were pure. "You… But you're hot too…" To this statement, all Riku could do was laugh.

"You've never been to some of the places I have!" He said happily. "I've been to a desert before, you know. It was hotter than this--and the days lasted longer." He was surprised to find her eyes wide when he turned around.

"And?" She mumbled grabbing his hand as Alena clambered up onto his back. "I've heard of deserts, but I've never seen any." She explained, waiting expectantly.

"I didn't know you'd be interested…" He said truthfully before beginning to explain. "Well, it was really hot and there was sand everywhere."

"There's sand all over here too!" Darcy interrupted, looking out at the beach that was drawing nearer and pointing.

"Yes, but where I was there was no water." Riku said patiently. He looked back for a second to check on Alena. Her little hand touched his neck for a moment, and he knew that she was interested in his story as well. He smiled slightly before returning to the discussion. "Sora would know a little better than I would, of course…"

"Yeah, I was there too--you see…" Sora started to talk, but he was cut off by Darcy.

"I want _you _to explain, Riku." She said earnestly, looking from Riku to Sora. "Not that I don't believe you, but… I like how Riku's voice sounds." She smiled happily as she said this, not even noticing the blush rise in both Sora's and Riku's faces.

"Maybe they really _do _like each other…" Sora whispered to Kairi who smiled and nodded. She scooted a little closer to Sora, taking his hand as she waited to hear the rest of Riku's story.

"It'd be interesting to hear his side of the story anyways, would it? Another side, another story…" Kairi murmured, wondering why the words sounded so familiar to her. "It'd help us understand him… Maybe."

"Well," Riku had started again. "There was a little city in the desert, but it was much different than anything is here. They had carpets all over the place--some of them even flew! You'll have to ask Sora for those details, though, because I never flew on one. There was a pretty princess who lived there too… It was my job to…" He paused and looked into the innocent eyes of Darcy and found that he couldn't tell them the whole truth. "Well, I had a different job than Sora, regardless." He murmured, brushing the topic off.

"Was there any… magic stuff there?" Darcy tried to keep her voice calm, but her face looked a little worried. "Magic is bad--that's what I've always heard." She explained when he gave her a puzzled look.

"Many things are bad." Riku responded. "But they are all over. Yes, there was magic--the flying carpets were magic, in fact. There was one man who was evil, and used magic to try and capture the princess." He stopped and listened to both of the girls gasp before continuing. "But he failed. It wasn't until… a very confused boy showed up, that she was caught. He learned later that his actions were wrong, and he was trapped in the Kingdom Hearts for a long time…"

To this, Darcy was surprised to feel emotions of sadness, hate, and guilt coming off of Riku in waves. She understood what he meant, and knew he was sorry. "Well," she said quietly, squeezing his hand. "God forgives if one asks." When he looked over at her, she conveniently looked away, distracted by the ocean.

"Does he…?" Riku mumbled, following her eyes to the ocean. "Even to those who leave those who love them? In which case, even my parents would also be forgiven… I don't know how I feel about that." He waited a moment before turning around to Sora and Kairi. "I'm sorry, Sora… I was just as bad as them, weren't I? I left you behind…"

"Yeah, but you were just trying to save Kairi." Sora responded, shrugging absently. "I'm not mad--I always knew that we'd all meet up again. You can ask… Oh wait… I guess you can't ask them, can you?" His face gave a forlorn look before turning and smiling again. "Well, I always believed in you guys."

"Thank you." Riku turned back around before looking back at Alena; she had fallen asleep. "Do you guys want to come over to my house or go play in the water first?" He asked after a second of watching the girl's innocent sleep.

"I wanna play in the ocean." Darcy said matter-of-factly. "I've never played in water before--I always heard that it was fun, though… And wet." The group laughed quietly as she said this.

"I agree with Darcy." Kairi spoke up, pulling Sora forward to keep pace with Riku. "It's hot and it'd be the perfect time to play in the water… Don't wake Alena until we get there, though… She looks so peaceful."

"Sounds like a plan." He replied.


End file.
